Saturday, November 27, 2010

Paper Wreath Tutorial - Jubilee Style

Here we are at another crafty post. I am trying to deal with stress by crafting rather than my usual go-to: mindlessly eating. So far, so good.

I've been doing a lot of blog hopping lately and finding crafts in the shabby chic style that I just love. I just happened to have all the supplies in my stash. Love it when that happens!

Let's see what we are making today:

A holiday wreath! Just like you see in those expensive home decor magazines. A-hem.

Gather your supplies.

1. A book that you don't mind defacing. I know, I know, it's practically a sacrilege, but it's so worth it once you get past the initial guilt. Trust me. No lightening bolts flew from the sky. The sky didn't fall and no mirrors shattered. You'll be fine. Promise.

2. Styrofoam wreath form. (Maybe) I ended up using card stock.

3. Adhesive. Don't use rubber cement. Regular ol' Elmer's is perfect.

4. Ink pad. Color of your choice. I experimented with a couple of colors, that's why you see several ink pads.

5. Ribbon. I think I used about two and a half feet. You'll need more if you want to tie it off in a nice pretty bow.

Have your Whirling Dervish chickadee ink the edges of the book after removing the cover. This will give him something to do other than prance around asking, "Can I help, Mom? Huh, huh, huh?" It will also make his fingers inky instead of yours. I'm just sayin'. Make sure he has an ornery smile and you have Directv (The Spirit channel) on in the background. LOL You can ink as little or as much of the pages themselves as you desire. Once Whirling Dervish got tired of inking (about 30 seconds), I decided to go at each page with a little more ink. I didn't want the color to be subtle for this particular wreath. There is much to be said for subtlety though. Especially since my red looks pink against my burgundy curtains. Ah well. (Note to self: Letitgo . . .)

(You only have to do this next part if you have trouble with your wreath form like I did. The rubber cement wasn't holding paper to the wreath form. I thought it was the wreath form. Turns out it was the rubber cement that wouldn't hold to the form. Um, duh. Trial and error on my part, means that it's easier for you when you try it.) Trace a dinner plate and then a smaller bowl onto heavy card stock so you have a small circle inside a bigger one.

Cut your paper so you get a wreath shape. I used three pieces of card stock glued together to make it somewhat sturdy. The sturdier the better. Cardboard would have been fabulous. Alas, I had none.

Next, put your ribbon on the form. Trust me, it is so much easier to attach ribbon at this point in the project than later. I looped mine through the middle of the wreath form and tied it off at the top. I wasn't concerned about a nice pretty bow. Mostly because I am a terrible bow maker and I just didn't want the hassle. The ends just hang. Loose ends? Who cares? Letitgo!

Tear the pages out of your book. Let out that aggression! It's fun! My book was just shy of 200 pages and I used all but about 20 of them.

You will need to roll each page into a cone shape and glue. It can be a bit tedious. Just remind yourself, "It's worth it, It's worth it!" Then you will adhere each cone onto the wreath form in a circular pattern (did I really need to say that?). Once you have a layer of cones, you will want to do another layer (or two, depending on your wreath size and particular aesthetic) but stagger them to help fill in gaps.

This is two layers. I wanted my wreath to be fuller and to make the middle less unsightly, so I added a whole 'nother layer and then a couple more cones here and there to fill in gaps and even out the middle a bit more. I still may add something to the middle of the wreath to cover the fact that the cones did not come together and meet nicely in the middle. Or I may not.

Here is the finished product once again. It's an easy project, but time consuming. I think I watched two episodes of The Defenders and a Bones episode while working on it. But that includes time that I spent trying to make the Styrofoam wreath form and rubber cement work together.

When you try this project, let me know how yours turned out. I'd love to hop on over to your blog and check out your masterpiece!

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Verse of the Day

Hey there!

I recognize that all my blessings come from my Heavenly Father. I want to be sure to give Him joyful praise for who He is.
On this journey with me:
The Cruise Director (16),
The Affectionate One (14) and Whirling Dervish (13). That's right, all teenagers. Chocolate, prayers and lots of cherry coke appreciated.

Remember:

Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them, and these will continue till they have been resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. --Frederick Douglass

Men, whether great or small, are still but men, and men are dust. To trust in the many is folly, to rely upon the eminent few is madness; to depend upon the Lord alone is the only sanity.